Tampons have becomes a significant part of the feminine care market recently and the most popular type of tampons are the so-called tube tampons. These tampons have been inserted by a pair of mated telescoping tubes. The inner tube rests against the bottom of the tampon at one end and extends outward through the bottom of the outer tube. The top of the outer tube may be closed or partially shield the leading edge of the tampon, or, alternatively, may be open with the leading edge of the tampon exposed. The bottom of the outer tampon tube has some configurational features to aid in gripping such as a portion of reduced diameter (a necked-in portion) which provides a guide for the passage of the inner tube during the expulsion of the tampon and also a finger gripping area. When the tampon is expelled, the inner tube serves as a plunger pushing against the tampon through the leading or upper edge of the outer tampon tube traveling generally along the channel provided by the necked-in portion. U.S. Pat. No. 3,409,011 shows such an outer tube.
Other representative outer tube configurations can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,429,312 which shows an outer tube shaped having longitudinal undulations along the tube length. U.S. Pat. No. 3,696,812 shows an outer tube with a series of convex rings designed to enhance the finger grip pattern. As can be seen from the prior art cited above, conventional means of forming the finger grip area on the outer tube involve either the thickening of the area of the walls used in the finger grip portion or the addition of an extra shaped element or elements. When tampon tubes are made of plastic the difficulty in molding and the cost of the tube itself is substantially increased when elaborate geometric formations are chosen, or, when a tube having wall thickness greater than needed in the finger grip portion is constructed.